Year in Review: After missing the last two months of the ‘08 season with a fractured left pinky, Lee returned to play 160 games in 2009, bringing his typical numbers with him. Lee’s real value has always been at the plate, as he continued to be noticeably sub-par in the field. In more than 660 plate appearances, Lee hit .300/.343/.489 with 26 homers and 102 runs batted in. He scored a meager 65 runs and stole five bases. The 2009 season was Lee’s first full year since 2002 without double-digit steals and at least 80 runs scored. He did make great strides in terms of striking out, dropping his K rate below 10% for the first time in his career, and his O-Swing rate was below 25% for the first time since 2005.

The Year Ahead: At 33 years of age, Lee’s days as a reliable second- or third-round pick are likely over. However, the numbers he can put up in Houston are good enough for him to be your second outfielder. In 2009, his batted-ball numbers were all the same as in years past, and he even seemed to improve his pitch selection in an attempt to stay on top of his game. His lack of power appears to be from pure aging alone, so don’t draft Lee expecting him to hit 30 homers again. However, a .300/20/100 line is what he’ll give you, and there is nothing wrong with that. (Zach Sanders)

Profile: "El Caballo" looked ready for the glue factory in 2010. The defensively challenged, 34-year-old outfielder compiled a .308 wOBA that was, by far, the lowest mark of his career. For the third straight season, Lee's patience and power eroded -- he walked in just 5.7% of his plate appearances, while failing to crack the .200 ISO mark for a second consecutive season (his 2010 ISO was .170). Lee's lousy walk rate was the result of an expanded strike zone. He chased 34.5% of pitches off the plate, well north of the 29.3% MLB average. Unsurprisingly, that put him behind in the count often. Pitchers got a first pitch strike against Lee 60.1%, compared to the 58.8% big-league average. The chances that he hits like a utility infielder again are slim -- his .238 BABIP was fourth-lowest among qualified hitters and nearly 50 points below his career average. But don't expect a .300 BABIP from a guy who hits more pop ups than most and whose first-base times could be clocked with a sun dial instead of a stop watch. Lee's best days are well behind him. (David Golebiewski)

The Quick Opinion: The Astros are stuck paying Lee embarrassing amounts of moolah through 2012, but fantasy owners luckily have no such ties. Lee will perform better in 2011, but, even so, he's no longer an impact hitter and comes with considerable risk as a old player with waning power.

Profile: After a career-worst season in 2010, Lee rebounded nicely for Houston, hitting .275/.342/.446 over 155 games. Somewhat problematically, as his overall line rose, he hit fewer home runs, which diminished his fantasy value, since most owners drafted him more for the 20+ homers he’d hit since his rookie season of 1999 than for, say, the career-best four triples he hit instead. The uptick in his walk rate is helpful for those in OBP leagues, but for most players it’s less helpful than an extra five home runs would be. At 36, it’s not unthinkable that he could hit 20 again next year, but his days of being a consistently strong second-tier power asset are behind him. (Dan Wade)

The Quick Opinion: His best days are behind him, but if power is scarce, Lee should provide a decent number of home runs without being a massive drain on his team’s average or OBP. With Albert Pujols and potentially Prince Fielder leaving the National League, Lee should rise marginally on NL-only draft boards.

Profile: Lee, 36, had been steadily declining at the plate from 2009-2011 before really falling over the cliff in 2012. His power vanished (.102 isolated slugging percentage) and his ability to get the bat on the ball (8.0 strikeout rate in 2012) is starting to go to waste now that his batting average on balls in play is settling into the .270-range. Lee had a big reverse split last season that goes against his track record, but even mashing lefties wouldn't make him an everyday fantasy option. He remains unsigned as of this writing and it's hard to see a scenario in which he's fantasy relevant in 2013 without a big BABIP spike. (Mike Axisa)

The Quick Opinion: Lee has been declining for years and he took a step over the edge in 2012, when his power completely vanished (.102 isolated slugging percentage). He remains unsigned as of this writing and won't be fantasy useful without a little batted-ball luck in 2013.